On the Specification of Heterochromatic Brightness

For many years it has been known that luminance, the CIE quantity best correlated with perceived brightness, does not work well for many colors. Consequently, the CIE charged a technical committee to find a better solution. The National Research Council of Canada, responding to the committee, has produced a function that can be used to correct luminance to produce predictions for brightness matches. This function, which is empirical, based on the extensive data that have been taken on brightness, is summarized in this report.

Keywords:

luminance, brightness, colors

Author Information:

Cowan, WB Associate research officer, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario